Light
by ps01032160198913
Summary: A remembrance of an odd yet somewhat fate-driven night that made her forget of how miserable it could have been if it weren't for the strangers she had met. one-shot: Spencer, Aria, Ezra


**I was in a strange mood so I ended up writing this strange little piece. Lightly inspired by the novel _'Franny and Zooey' by J.D. Salinger_ because I'm currently reading that now and it's quickly becoming one of my favorites.**

**- Queen**

* * *

The car slowly pulled up near the front doors of the train station. Pulling her bag, Aria smiled and opened the car door. "I'll call as soon as I get to the terminal." She informed her younger brother. "Could you remind Mom about my mails? They might send me a-"

"Yes, yes, yes, alright." Mike interrupted after hearing the reminder for the umpteenth time.

"Also, tell her to stay on her phone, I might call before the meeting."

"Yeah, yeah. Good luck." He waved his hand at her as she shook her head, grinning and soon, she was off to New York in the hopes of a new job opportunity.

People came spilling out of the tracks and hurried on with their other endeavors as Aria simply glanced around, admiring the busyness of the terminal. So, nonchalantly, she began to walk toward the stairs with the newly built Apple store above.

The track boards began to flap, changing the times of certain destinations and arrivals and the sound had caught Aria's attention. Looking up, she squinted and studied the words, making sure she knew where and what to read for when she had to come back home.

Realizing that she had a couple of more hours to kill, Aria smiled at the board and turned around, heading for the Vanderbilt exit and planned to grab a small dinner before the job interview.

"Hi, Mommy." She smiled to herself as she pressed the phone close to her ear. "Nope, just here, sitting, waiting, eating, talking." She jested. She wanted to mention to her about her desire to smoke a cigarette to make her nerves go away, but knowing her mother, she could already hear her arguing about how it wasn't a very smart move. Ella had been trying to get her to quit for years, and Aria wanted to agree, but only for this occasion. Having the smell of smoke all over her right before meeting with someone she had to impress was definitely a must-don't.

"You didn't go there to diddle-daddle, honey…" Ella reminded her.

Chuckling softly, Aria looked up as the waiter approached her with her cheque. "Yes, I know, ma'am." She said sarcastically. "I will get there on time." She said.

"Listen, call me when you're finished with the meeting. I gotta head out for a bit with your father."

"Sure, yeah. Love you and Dad." She said and heard her answering the same affection. "Bye-bye." She added one last time before putting her phone on the table. Aria took a glance out the window and saw the rain falling heavier and heavier causing the windows to be blurred within a second, so much that she could only see figures of the people walking past by.

After losing the abstracted stare in her eyes for minutes, her phone buzzed and she quickly retrieved it and checked the screen, seeing a voicemail message. Furrowing her brow, Aria immediately checked and listened in.

Shortly after, the female's monotonous voice continued to talk regarding Aria's interview. _'We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience…'_

"What?" She whispered in disbelief as she continued to listen to the woman who had just informed her that her interview had been canceled due to the some abrupt changes in schedule which Aria knew was just euphemism for 'we don't need you anymore' and before ending the message, the woman apologized once more and offered an alternative selection to compensate for Aria's troubles, a compensation that Aria did not exactly find fair nor useful in her case.

Aria swallowed hard as her eyes began to well up with tears and frustration and embarrassment. It had felt like a slap to the face and it was in a way, being rejected before even having the chance to be rejected, being turned down before even going up to present herself; how worse could it get? Aria, wholly upset, gathered her stuff, slammed some money on the table, and rushed out of the restaurant. She knew she should have called her mother, she could vent out to her to feel a little less agitated, but even the idea of speaking to anybody right now felt too strenuous.

Biting her lower lip as hard as she could, Aria walked down a few blocks as the rain poured down relentlessly, soaking her entirely, but she continued on, seemingly unaware of the rain. Then she stopped in front of a closed coffee shop and stood under the awning to hide from the rain that she had only fully noticed after her flats began to slosh at each step.

With the interview unfortunately out of the way, Aria reached inside her bag and took out a pack of cigarettes and a silver Zippo lighter with her initials engraved on it. Her hands shook from the cold and aggravation, making it rather complicated to light the cigarette that she had placed between her wet lips. Seconds later, she breathed deeply, composing herself as the lit cigarette stayed delicately between the ends of her fingers.

Crying and wiping her eyes alternatively, Aria watched the cars on the streets zooming by while she focused hard on catching an empty yellow cab that she could hail. The message replayed in her head, resenting the woman's robotic voice once more. She didn't want to believe that a person was capable of being so awful and inconsiderate of others, enough to easily disregard them through a phone call. Aria shook her head as the cigarette made a subtle crackling sound, its lit end reaching the other end of the stick slowly. Aria continued to take long and irked drags, quickly letting the stick shrink an inch.

"Got a light?" A woman who had slid next to her asked.

Aria turned to the voice and eyed the woman. She was a few inches taller, skinny, and pretty but it was the kind of beauty that required a long and hard look before truly appreciating it like examining a painting at an art gallery. Her hair was shoulder-length and dark especially in this light. Aria's eyes focused on her small chin, her distinctive feature yet as Aria would have thought. She continued to admire the cleft that was perfectly sculptured in the middle.

"Umm…" Aria mumbled, feeling distraught for a moment. She quickly wiped her face and nodded. "Yeah, yeah." She said as she took out her lighter from her bag.

The woman approached her with her cigarette already stuck between her lips.

Aria stepped closer and gazed at the stranger's face and lips before bringing up her hands near the unlit cigarette. Forming a cup with her hands, Aria triggered the lighter the first time, her hands shaking badly from either the freezing weather or from the bad news, that she still couldn't tell apart.

"Sorry." Aria said after the second try. "Sorry, it—it's a little damp from the rain-" She stammered, cursing her hands from shaking. Frustrated at the failure of her lighter, Aria began to quietly cry again, surprising the woman before her.

"Hey, it's alright, you don't have—"

"No." Aria cut in and tried again, her hands still shaking. The stranger moved closer and held Aria's hands, holding them still as Aria finally lit the cigarette.

"Thanks." The woman said with a faint smile as she pulled her hands back. Aria forced a smile and took a step back, wiping her eyes again. "You okay?" The woman asked slowly without really needing to look back at her.

"Mhm-mhm." Aria said as she threw away her cigarette.

"Rain's a hell for smokers, isn't it?" She commented, trying to lighten her up, but Aria remained quiet. "I'm Spencer." She introduced. "And you're A…An…Ama…" She trailed off, causing Aria to look up in wonder. "I noticed the lighter. I only saw A and M. I used to have the same Zippo, customized too. Must've left it at home." She continued on with a side smile.

"A's for Aria." Aria answered.

"Aria." Spencer repeated, smiling a bit. "You shouldn't cry, Aria." She said. "Especially not while you're in New York." Spencer stated and fixed her eyes on Aria, seeing the corner of her lips slightly curl up. "Are you waiting for a taxi?"

"Yes." Aria simply said and watched as Spencer began to walk away until she disappeared around the corner. Heaving a deep breath, Aria furrowed her brow and shook her head at the abrupt goodbye or lack thereof from the woman.

A few moments later, a car pulled up to her, its window rolling down and Aria squinted hard to take a good look at the driver and noticed it was Spencer.

"Come on…" Spencer called out after her. "Free of charge." She grinned.

Aria glanced around for a bit, not afraid to display her hesitance of getting in the car. "It's fine. I'll take a cab-" She excused.

"Yeah, if you're lucky to get one at this hour." Spencer answered back. "C'mon, I'm not kidnapping you, alright? You can trust me."

Sighing, Aria licked her lips and forced a smile. "You really don't have—"

"Hey." Spencer interrupted. "You didn't take no for an answer, what makes you think I won't do the same?" Spencer flashed a warm smile for her.

Giving into her persistence, Aria got in the car, fastened her seat belt, and thanked Spencer as they drove off. Looking at her, Aria cleared her throat. "I'm at the 42nd—" She stopped upon hearing Spencer's soft chuckle. "What?"

"I may have offered you a free ride, that doesn't mean you get to choose where we're going too." Spencer informed her.

"What?" Aria quickly said, a bit baffled.

"Aw c'mon-" Spencer shot her a glance then went back on focusing her eyes on the road. "I'm not gonna let you leave this city with a bad experience." She explained. "It'll give us, New Yorkers, a bad reputation." She shot Aria a quick playful smile.

"So where are you planning to bring us?"

"My boyfriend's having a party at his place . You're up for it, aren't you?"

Aria shook her head. "I'm not really interested." She said as Spencer let out another chuckle.

"I'm sorry if I made that sound like you had a choice in the matter. That wasn't my intention." Spencer told her, making Aria sigh once again while Spencer stepped on the gas, giddy to get to their destination.

"Hey, hey." Spencer announced as they both entered the Manhattan loft.

"I thought you said he was having a party." Aria commented and glanced around the quiet place, seeing the high ceiling and dim lights and wide space.

"Trust me, this is wild enough for him." Spencer said and Aria couldn't tell if she was being serious or not.

From the distance, Aria could hear Erik Satie's Gnossienne No.1 playing softly in the background. Her knowledge of this became useful after taking that one music class back in college. The women walked further in and Aria saw the back of his dark-haired head resting leisurely on the wooden chair and she noticed a puff of white smoke drifting into the air gracefully and almost synchronized with Satie's piece. Aria didn't walk on whereas Spencer headed for the faceless man. Watching Spencer lean over to kiss the man, Aria's eyes narrowed on them and she noticed Spencer's lips moving as if reciting a quiet prayer.

Aria stiffened up her posture as Spencer began to make her way back to her. Her eyes looked over Spencer's shoulder, seeing the man stand up and walk over to the record player to turn it off.

"Come." Spencer simply said and Aria followed seeing as she had no other options.

They entered another room with a bar positioned in the corner, its mahogany and polished trimmed counters and wine bottles, liquors of varied kinds, all of them loud enough to catch anybody's eyes. Spencer proceeded to the bar and moved, flowed almost in a fluid manner making it look like she had done this many times before and perhaps she had.

"Is he coming to join us or is he-" Aria apprehensively asked and walked to the bar, taking a seat while Spencer continued to prepare their drinks.

"Why do you ask?" She nonchalantly asked. "Does he interest you?" She added, sounding as if they were already close friends.

With lowered eyebrows, and feeling tested by the question, Aria took a moment to think although she already knew her answer. "Why would he interest me?"

"Why wouldn't he? Is he not—"

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Then how did you mean it?"

Aria swallowed hard and shook her head. "I don't know. I was just asking." She answered as Spencer's eyes peered over to look at Aria and smiled, evidently amused by Aria's jittery behavior. From afar, Spencer could see him heading in their direction with a cigarette stuck between his lips.

Very much mystified by the woman before her, Aria reached for her handbag and took out another cigarette from the pack. Like a routine, she took her lighter out and flipped it open. Spencer watched warily and noticed the lighter failing to cooperate the way it did earlier.

"Do you have a light? This—" Aria shut her eyes and gestured at her own defective lighter.

"Do you have a light?" Spencer asked.

"I asked you…" Aria lifted her eyes at her, puzzled and now a bit irritated because of the unlit cigarette in her hold.

"And I asked him." Spencer replied and Aria suddenly turned around to see a formally dressed man closing in on them. His neatly parted hair exposed his small forehead, and his blue eyes gazed at her; mysterious and quietly intimidating, but not in the same way with Spencer, he seemed much more serious and brooding. "Just give her a light, won't you? You don't have to act like a damn vampire about it." Spencer said to him while he gave her a small dry smile before taking out a similar lighter.

"Thanks." Aria said before even letting him work the lighter.

"You took my lighter. I've been looking everywhere for it." Spencer commented.

Aria stared at him as he pulled away after lighting the cigarette. He took a seat next to her and played with Spencer's lighter which had only her first name engraved on it.

"Who's she?" He asked Spencer and Aria creased her eyebrows at him, clearly offended at the fact that he would rather ask Spencer than talk to the person herself.

"Who's he?" Aria asked sarcastically, her eyes on Spencer. Stealing a side glance, Aria saw that he was smiling at her.

"Funny." He said and cleared his throat. "Ezra." He finally revealed while tilting his head at her, expecting her to return the same favor.

Many drinks later, Aria found herself sitting near the fireplace while Spencer and Ezra curled together on an armless Burlap couch, staring at her like she was one of the very few species at a zoo.

"Just everyone, they're so fucking sad, every single one—" Aria went on, going off about some existentialism, but it seemed that she was only venting out for what had happened earlier with her interview and the alcohol had given a philosophical turn to it. "Fucking anti academics and their trivial boho tendencies. They don't even realize or they refuse to realize because they're such chums that their idea of wanting to be distinct makes them all the fucking same—"

"Chums?" Ezra uttered, making Spencer laugh softly. They exchanged curious glances, feeling a bit targeted due to the fact that they had turned down Ivy League schools many years ago, believing them to be the culprit for the death of originality and individuality and instead, they went off on their own path, letting life lead them wherever they wanted while maintaining to keep their hopes and dreams or whatever the hell they preferred to call it, their 'calling' as some would describe.

Aria sighed and pressed her hand against the side of her head, feeling lightheaded from all the talking. Spencer moved and sat down with Aria.

"You're quite the opposite of a drunk, are you aware of that?" Spencer stated as Aria looked at her and leaned her head on Spencer's shoulder helplessly and exhausted, as Ezra chuckled at them.

"You've certainly outdone yourself with this one, darling." Ezra said to Spencer. "The best one out of the litter." Ezra continued, implying Aria and her apparent, boozed-induced theories regarding geniuses who refused to be acknowledged as geniuses, mavericks who declined for their essays to be graded by professors of inferior intelligence and soon, the same geniuses who declined a much bigger part of the university and ultimately, the university itself.

Spencer pushed a stray wisp of hair away from Aria's face. "It's just a job interview, Aria. You'll get many more."

"I'm so sick of it." Aria blurted out in a slurred voice.

"Sick of what exactly? Job interviews or for existing? Or those failed individualists that you so heavily despised?" Ezra inquired as he finally came down to join the women.

Aria turned to look at him. "All of them." She answered, making him smile. "Even me." She admitted. "Oh, especially me. I'm disgusting. I'm no different. What the hell am I saying?" She rambled on, clearly buzzed off.

Cupping the side of her face, Ezra leaned in and kissed her slowly. Aria reacted minimally and kissed back with a certain fatigue while Spencer intently watched them with a ghost of a smile.

Pulling away, Ezra breathed deeply and studied Aria's heavy eyes. "I'll make a cup of coffee." Ezra said as he got up to leave the living room.

"I'm sorry." Aria softly said as she turned to Spencer, looking at her with sleepy eyes. "I didn't mean to kiss him."

Spencer gave a reassuring smile. "I don't know if you've picked up on this, but he and I have a very eccentric relationship. You'll find that out soon enough." She said while smiling slyly.

"You guys seem perfectly normal to me." Aria said and saw Spencer roll her eyes. "What?"

"That's an insult if I ever heard one. Similar to how one would describe someone to have potential, but not enough of it to actually be of talent."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I think you're lovely." Aria immediately said affectionately and brushed her hand over Spencer's forearm. "What do you mean by eccentric?" She asked as confusion masked over her face.

Spencer took Aria's hand and gave it a squeeze then she brought up her other hand and brushed Aria's wet lips. "They're a fool not to hire you, babe. It's a shame they didn't get a chance to see your face. I'm sure they would have thought differently." She said as Aria inevitably smiled. "What breaks my heart, do you want to hear what really breaks my heart?" She asked although not caring for Aria's answer because she went on talking without even considering a pause of breath. "Pity on them for turning you down. They didn't reward themselves with your intelligence. Are you aware of that?" She told her as she began to lightly gave Aria's face a squeeze and a caressing brush, almost motherly. "You are so unbelievably smart, I can already tell, and so, so-" Spencer breathed out. "Stunning." She finally said before pressing her lips against hers, kissing Aria fervently and with such enamored touch that Aria hadn't enough time to think and protest, but enough to react similarly and equally.

Ezra set the coffee tray on the glass table as Spencer and a lightly buzzed off Aria continued to blindly aim for the bedroom, seemingly having no willpower to tear themselves apart from one another.

Glancing back at them, Ezra shook his head. "Mind the door. There's a mirror near it. So, try not to slam the damn thing if you can." He called out after them. Grabbing a cup of coffee, he took a huge careless swig and felt his tongue burning before settling it down and following them into the bedroom. A few seconds later, he could hear the door slamming and the glass shattering and all he could do was draw his head back, plausibly annoyed at the mere fact that he had just bought the mirror a few weeks ago when he and Spencer had traveled to France, looking and roaming about like the antique lovers they were.

"Do you realize that you just ruined a perfectly authentic framed Saint-Gobain mirror, one of the finest of…" His voice broke off as he closed the bedroom door and cautiously stepped around the shards of glass.

Ezra moved slowly, taking his time as he stole a few glances at the women on his bed. Shaking himself out of his trousers, he patiently folded it and placed it on top of the dresser. He moved to his shirt, loosening his tie before unbuttoning his dress shirt and ritualistically folded them carefully and put it right next to his trousers.

"For your information…" Aria muttered as she lay on her back. "I'm not-"

"Yes, yes, I know." Spencer interrupted. "I'm not either, but here we are. Funny how that works, huh?" She flashed a quirky smile and Aria complied and lunged forward to kiss her again.

Spencer bolted upright and trapped Aria with both of her legs planted to the sides. She began to unzip Aria's pants hastily as Aria simply watched, seeing her pants fly over Spencer's head. Dipping back down, Spencer felt Aria's hands going around her head eagerly and pulled her closer for a kiss. Then Spencer grabbed Aria's shirt and quickly pulled them over her head, her hair spreading all over the bed beautifully and almost fashionably.

Pulling away from Aria's hold, Spencer glanced back and noticed Ezra walking around the opposite side of the bed and merely sat down to watch them.

"Hi." Spencer smiled sweetly at him as he moved forward to kiss her.

Aria furrowed her brow and watched the couple towering over her. This night was not at all what she had expected. She had it all planned out. An interview gone well, a few drinks to pat herself on the back, a nice hotel suite for surviving the night, and a good peaceful sleep before heading back home with such good news that she couldn't wait to break out to her family. But none of those mattered, none of which she acquired as a matter of a fact, much to her true dismay. What would she tell Ella now? A story of a slightly drunken threesome with strangers she had just met not even two hours ago? With, as proven, two unconventional people who enjoyed old New Age music and considered listening to it that it would be enough to be deemed as a party, two odd souls who smoked packs after packs of cigarettes as if it was their only source of oxygen, a couple who didn't behave like a couple or rather behaved a little too much of it that their comfort zone had diffused into others, so much that their lovemaking between just the two of them became a bore and insufficient thus causing an act of inviting a broken stranger who, as of now, was left baffled with herself and her own inexplicable lust for the couple, a desire felt in such opposing ways. She wondered how it was possible and how the couple made it so possible and so easy, everything about the way they moved and talked and dragged a woman who seemingly had her head the right way a few hours ago was now left confused and hungry for pleasure that only the couple could fully satisfy for her.

As she continued to watch the couple kiss lovingly and passionately, Aria couldn't help but feel a pang of jealously. She wanted her own Spencer and she wanted her own Ezra. She yearned for someone who didn't mind things as people usually would through complaints and snide remarks, she wanted to find someone who completed the other with small sentences and long delicate drags of a cigarette, someone who was so tranquil and simple…just someone who wasn't trying to be someone.

Aria blinked repeatedly and saw Spencer pulling away from Ezra before gently climbing out of bed. For a second, her eyes followed Spencer, wondering where she was off to before Ezra completely towered over her.

Breathing heavily and unevenly, Aria looked up and saw him smiling down at her, and she felt grateful for Spencer having taken care of undressing her just so he wouldn't have to waste the time to do so. There was an odd intimacy that he managed to create between them, as though they knew each other for a very long time. The glint in his eyes made her feel comfortable and she felt a longing touch from him, and as seconds went by, she could sense herself growing impatient.

Leaning down, Ezra planted his lips on hers with such softness that Aria, without much will, wrapped her arms around his broad upper back while her legs hugged him securely.

Spencer walked to the dresser and found Ezra's trousers and felt it for the cigarette pack. Taking one out, Spencer then dug for the other pocket for the lighter. With the cigarette stuck between two fingers, she began to walk across the room and closed the blinds. She then walked over to the other side of the room, picking up Aria's clothes and folded them neatly and put them next to Ezra's heap on top of the same dresser. Finally doing the small errands, Spencer turned around and approached the small arm chair, sat down, and watched the understood liaison in bed between Ezra and Aria. Her lips soon curled into an entertained smile as she kept on watching to the fluid movements acted by the two people and simultaneously listening to the soft, arousing sounds that came out of Aria's mouth.

Getting up, Spencer ambled her way to the bed while taking long wholesome drags from her cigarette. She pressed her knee on the mattress for support and put out the lit cigarette on the nightstand, not caring of finishing it.

With her soft restrained cry, Aria arched her back and shut her eyes so tightly that her lips parted almost in an anatomical collaboration with her body as Ezra bowed his head, pressing his mouth on her collarbone, kissing and letting it rest there for a moment.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he moved his head to the side and saw Spencer climbing back into bed with them. Ezra rolled off of Aria and settled on the opposite side, letting Spencer take the upperhand with Aria who remained almost as a middle ground between the couple.

Spencer smiled and ran her hand over Aria's quivering navel. Shaking her head in disbelief and awe, Aria finally opened her eyes again and smiled at Spencer. "That was…something…" She sighed out, making Spencer laugh softly.

Aria laughed wearily with her and felt Spencer's weight pushing down on her own body before they both shifted position, moving Aria in the center of the bed. Glancing to her side, Aria caught Ezra staring at the two of them with the same unworried look on his face.

Aria turned to face Spencer and brought her arm and wrapped around Spencer's neck, hugging her lightly; she could feel Ezra's lips on her shoulder blade and his hand on her thigh as her eyes began to fall heavily and contently all at once.

Many hours and smokes later, Spencer and Ezra remained awake and shared a look as Aria remained between them, still sleeping soundly.

"I want to keep her." Spencer said in a light dreamy voice, her hand stroking Aria's forearm that remained clutched around Spencer's chest and neck.

Ezra laughed softly and dismissively as if his woman was absolutely out of her mind. "You can't keep people, sweetheart." He said. "You can only convince them well enough to make them want to stay." He added and gave her a sympathetic look.

Sighing deeply and with saddened but true realization, Spencer glanced down at Aria and fixed her eyes back on Ezra's mature face.

Just a little shy of eight o'clock in the morning, Aria found herself trapped between the couple making it rather hard for her to even move an inch. But after a careful maneuvering, she succeeded in rolling out of bed without causing a cacophony of reckless movements.

She ran her hand through her hair, groaning internally at the grogginess of her current state of consciousness. Aria scanned the room and looked for her clothes and other belongings. Her eyes spotted her pants and she smiled confusingly at the neat folded clothes on the dresser. Aria walked over to it and grabbed her clothes before noticing the lighter beside Ezra's clothes. She ran her fingertips over the smooth, silver lighter and tilted her head to the side to read the engraved letters on it.

Moments later, she sat on the arm chair and quickly fixed her garment. Aria drew in a small breath and got up. It took every ounce of her to leave the loft, but alas, she had no intentions of being here in the first place - it wasn't her kind of lifestyle, and even though it sounded good in her head last night, morning came after and made it clear that those late night thoughts were merely a product of her lack of sobriety.

Ambling her way to the door, Aria glanced back and saw Spencer's eyes looking back at her. She stayed still for a moment as Spencer remained wide awake, her hands under her cheeks, her lips slightly parted almost questioningly, and her eyes, those soft eyes that stared right back at her seemed as if they were pleading for something - a request that Aria could not fulfill because it was never hers to fulfill in the first place. Swallowing hard, Aria took one last beat to look at Spencer before turning around to continue on with her departure.

As she waited for the train to be filled, Aria sat restively in the stiff two-seater leather seat. She sighed and unzipped her coat; it still felt a little damp from last night's rain so she began to take it off and was distracted by the object inside one of its pocket. Taking out the cold object, Aria stared at the Zippo lighter and smiled a little at the engraved name. A remembrance of an odd yet somewhat fate-driven night that made her forget of how miserable it could have been if it weren't for the strangers she had met. Aria opened the lighter and played with it, closing and opening it and each time, it would make a clinking sound. Her thumb brushed over the engraved letters as her eyes remained on it. _Spencer._


End file.
